Gun Blogger Rendezvous is just a few, measly months away! This year the Rendezvous will be held September 5th-8th and it will be in the usual spot, the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino located in beautiful Reno, Nevada. The registration fee is $30 per person and it includes the cost of the Silver Legacy Hospitality Room, an NSSF “All You Can Eat” pizza feed and “other stuff.” The registration form allows you to send in a bit extra to be donated to Project Valour-IT; a most worthy cause. Discounted hotel rooms for the out-of-town attendees are available at the Silver Legacy for those who reserve their rooms using the discount code found over at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous blog.

Fill out and return the registration form NOW to secure your spot and help make the planning process easier and less stressful for our fearless leader Mr. Completely. There are two registration forms available. The official one, posted over at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous blog is available for download. I’ve also created a prettier version of the registration form for those of us who’d like to type in our information instead of write it. Yay laziness! That form is available for download as well. When Google Reader cooperates, the sexy registration form will also be embedded below.

I hope to see you all there at the Rendezvous! It’s good, cheap, swag-bearing, clean(ish) fun!

I’m cleaning house and giving away the following t-shirts. All are used in good condition. All have been around a dog. They’re FREE to a good home, email me your mailing info at gg.girlsloveguns@gmail.com and I’ll send them to you. If you wanna chip in for shipping, that’s awesome. If not, no worries.

1. Grey “I support the right to arm bears” shirt, good condition- XL
2. Red “Top Shot” shirt, good condition- XL
3. Black “Hi Point Firearms” shirt, good condition- XL
4. White “GunUP” shirt, good condition- 2XL
5. White “GunUp” shirt, good condition- XL
6. Tan NRA Outdoors polo shirt with light right shoulder padding- 2XL

After Randy’s Tannerite escapade, I emailed University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Living With Fire program coordinator Ed Smith asking about the wildfire danger caused by target shooters shooting out in the boonies. Here’s our conversation:

From: Gun Girl
To: Ed Smith
Subject: Wildfire and Gunfire

Hi Ed~

Can gunfire cause wildfires? If so, are there any tips to avoid causing them? ie ammo type, etc. What fire prevention items should shooters carry with them?

Thanks~
GG

From: Ed Smith
To: Gun Girl
Subject: RE: Wildfire and Gunfire

Gun Girl… great question. Below is Carson City Fire Marshall Tom Tarulli’s response to your question…

“Hi Ed, I know these are simple but they work. #1 Restrict shooting on Red flag days. #2 Limit the use of metal tip bullets, #3 Keep a small extinguisher with you or bucket of water. #4 Shooting into a sandy hill is better than the side of any mountain or rocky out cropping. if you think you may have started a fire call when it is small, so we can get to it before it is out of control. It was an accident!”

For my two cents, don’t shoot in areas with dried grass and weeds. They are easily ignited by a spark, whereas living, actively growing plants much more difficult to being ignited by sparks.

Ed Smith
Natural Resource Specialist
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
P.O. Box 338, Minden, NV 89423
P: 775-782-9960 F: 775-782-9968

After Randy’s Tannerite-involving, don’t burn down the city escapades, I’ve been trying to find research-based information on the effects of discharging a firearm in a wildfire prone area. I’ve found several news stories out of California and Utah which blame target shooters for wildfires. I’ve read forum postings which state that shooting can cause fires, that it can’t, that only certain types or colors of ammo can start fires and that any fires are caused by the shooters and not the shooting. I want proof, not old wives’ tails or speculation, so I went where I always go when I want accurate information on a topic… to Cooperative Extension.

Using the website extension.org/search, I was able to sift through research-based, peer-reviewed information from Cooperative Extensions across the U.S. I discovered one mention of firearms and fires in a publication put out by Colorado State University’s Extension service. The fact sheet is called Cheatgrass and Wildfire and it states: “During hunting season or target practice, be aware of fires that may ignite due to stray bullets hitting solid objects and thus creating sparks.”

I don’t know if that’s exactly what happened to Randy. The near-disaster did occur in a very rocky area and rocks are solid objects. The shooter did get hit by flying debris… a rock fragment perhaps? In any case, I agree with Randy’s conclusion that it’s a good idea for shooters plinking on public land to bring fire extinguishers with them. I’d also add to his conclusion that shooters should bring with them:

• a cell phone, CB radio, etc. to be used to contact emergency personnel if reinforcements are needed.
• water. Keep old milk jugs filled with water close to shooters. Having several jugs available will allow all parties present to participate in the firefight. The water can also be used to thoroughly wet down the area to prevent any possible unseen sparks from smoldering and starting a fire later on.
• a full- or camp-sized shovel or trowel. Randy’s fire crew stomped, watered, rocked and soiled their fires. Something to quickly scoop up soil and throw it on the fire to smother it would have helped the fires to be put out sooner.

A custom engraved, Soldiers’ Angels Sig Saur 1911 that is.

Thanks to our friends at SIG SAUER and Gunbroker.com, this one-of-a-kind reverse two-tone 1911 is up for auction to help raise funds for Soldiers’ Angels.  By bidding on this donated firearm, you can help out Project Valour-IT. Plus, if you end up the winning bidder, you’ll be the proud owner of  a true collector’s piece.  Heck, if you didn’t win a gun at this year’s Gun Blogger Rendezvous, here’s your chance! The auction closes at 9 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, October 23rd. Get your bids in, share the link and good luck to everyone!

Direct link: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=251295122

Tonight I’m scheduled to do a phone interview with Dustin Ellermann. Is there anything in particular you guys and gals would like me to ask him?

For those of you watching the show, don’t forget that it’s not just the contestants who are eligible to win prizes. Yah, sure their prize is $100,000, but you could win a Top Shot Prize Pack by playing the fantasy football-type Top Shot Facebook game.

Carla of Top Shot exzplains the game:

You may be familiar with the Season 2 version of the game, but if not think fantasy football meets your readers’ favorite series and you’ve got the Top Shot Fantasy Game: The Gauntlet where Top Shot fans can make predictions of who they think will walk away with the Season 3 title and the $100,000 grand prize. Each week, fans will be allowed to arrange the players in the order in which they think they will be eliminated to earn points. The final Top 10 players will receive a Top Shot Prize Pack that includes a $100 Bass Pro Shops gift card, Top Shot Season 1 and Season 2 DVD sets, t-shirt, shot glass, and an iPhone case.

Good luck to Dustin in the competition and good luck to you guys on the Facebook game! (And good luck to me in tonight’s interview! I’m kinda nervous!)

Last week, I put up a picture of a memo from Woolrich Elite Series which stated that they’re going to, at the urging of the good folks of Gun Blogger Rendezvous, donate proceeds to help Soldier’s Angel’s Project Valour-IT…

Well, now we have all of the juicy details!

Woolrich Elite Series wants to give readers of Rendezvous bloggers a chance to help out Soldiers’ Angels – Project VALOUR-IT.  Through a partnership with one of their dealers, Woolrich Elite has created a private shopping page where fans can purchase the latest Woolrich Elite Series gear. Woolrich Elite will then donate 2% of the total sales back to Project VALOUR-IT!

“From the beginning, Woolrich has supported American servicemen and women. We’re proud to support the outstanding work of Soldiers’ Angels and their Project VALOUR-IT,” said Jerry Rinder, Woolrich Elite Series vice president. 

Visit http://tacticalgear.com/woolrich-elite-clothing to see the complete selection of Woolrich Elite Series products and make your purchases to help Soldiers’ Angels.

For ideas on what to buy, check out these CCW items. While 99.9% of the gear available is for men, I did find ONE item for the tactical girl: http://tacticalgear.com/womens-woolrich-elite-cargo-pants. Happy Shopping! Remember, it’s for a good cause.

The after-effects of GBR:

• The house is super-messy after days of coming home, dropping everything on the living room floor and falling into bed.
• I spent five hours on Monday catching up on Statistics homework. Five hours of math isn’t something I’d wish on my own worst enemy. Ugh.
• I worked from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. yesterday trying to catch up on all of the work I missed.
• All of my long, beautiful fingernails are broken.
• I have a fat bruise on my arm from shouldering Allen’s shotgun.

And yet… I can’t wait to do it again next year!

On the first day of GBR, I got up early and drove toward the Silver Legacy where the GBR attendees were meeting up to eat breakfast together. It was a nice drive… Good sunshiny weather, a sky full of hot air balloons rising and moving along the blue sky. But I didn’t end up at GBR that morning. Nor did I get to eat breakfast with my fellow bloggers. I had to go to school. Darn Statistics class!

After class, my husband hopped on the motorcycle, I took my car and we headed out to Cabela’s for a guided tour.

My tour notes:

• The giant statue in front of the store was made by a man from Auburn. All Cabela’s stores have one except one due to a city ordinance.
• Every species of ibex in the world is displayed above the front entrance. Also displayed are big horns (the Nevada state animal).
• Washington store ran outta room so Nevada got the whale. 9 truckloads of taxidermy animals, all animals displayed are Cabela’s. Many are donated by widows.
• Cabela’s employees despise the talking deer head which mysteriously breaks a lot (Which caliber for talking deer heads?).
• Aquarium: 2 tanks, one warm, one cold. There are live fish feeding shows on Saturdays which result in employees explaining the cycle of life to small, crying children who want to know why the big fish ate all of the gold fish.
• Interesting note: there is a store code for activists (Which caliber for activists? Well, they’re pretty skinny…)
• Store mountain taxidermy display themes: conservation, high desert, Sierra Nevadas, winter scenery. The winter scene includes the display of an award-winning caribou.
• Big Five taxidermy display’s centerpiece elephant was so large and was brought in so late in building construction, the doors had to be removed to bring it inside. The hippo was a last-minute donation so the display could be more accurately titled Big Six.
• Grand slam of sheep is earned by shooting four kinds of sheep. The grand slam on display in Cabela’s is accompanied by the rifle which was used to shoot the grand slam. The rifle was inherited and subsequently donated by the shooter’s grandson. It had to be disabled before display.
• Ryan of the Gun Library showed us a Custer-linked revolver. The front sight and grips have been changed and parts have been nickeled. We were also shown the civilian version of the same revolver.
• Chris and I enjoyed looking at a wall-mounted Martini with a hand-carved walnut stock.
• Tour guide recommends Awful Awful burger in the downtown little nugget.